Kumho Tire signs investment deal for €400m Korea factory

Seoul – Kumho Tire has signed an investment agreement to build a new tire manufacturing facility in the Bitgreen industrial complex, in Hampyeong county in southwest Korea.

In a 9 Dec announcement, the Korean tire maker said the new facility is being built in the aftermath of a major fire at Kumho’s Gwangju plant in May last year.

With an investment size of KRW661 billion (€390 million), the new facility will have a capacity to produce 5.3 million units of tiers and 7 million units of “refined rubber” in its first phase, said Kumho.

Set for completion by the end of 2027 and scheduled for commercial production in 2028, the facility will feature a “future-oriented production system,” including smart manufacturing and eco-friendly processes.

“Since the fire at its Gwangju plant on 17 May [2025], Kumho Tire has been working diligently to both manage the damage and proactively compensate local residents for the damage,” said the tire maker

The new plant, it noted, is expected to play a key role in strengthening Kumho Tire's mid- to long-term global competitiveness by adding capacity through “enhanced production efficiency and quality competitiveness.”

The deal follows Kumho’s earlier announcement in December last year that it is building a €500-million European base in Opole, Poland.

The Polish plant, with a nameplate capacity of 6 million units of passenger car tires, is set for operation in August 2028. (ERJ report)

Together, the two projects form part of Kumho’s growth strategy to take “global competitiveness to the next level,” said CEO Jeong Il-taek.